The much-discussed UK Gambling White Paper is set to be released this week and is being keenly monitored by those within the industry. It’s likely that widespread regulatory changes are due, and there is concern about how these will impact the market as a whole.

The White Paper comes after a review of the UK gambling industry, which started in 2020, and some of the potential plans in place have already been leaked and include a mandatory levy on revenues, limits on online slot machine stakes, and so-called “affordability checks.”

On the plus side, it appears that there will be looser restrictions in place for land-based casinos in the country. 

In terms of those discussed limits for slots, it’s believed that the White Paper will propose limits as low as $2.50, and the proposed financial checks may only apply to players who lose $1250 a day or $2500 over the course of 90 days.

Lobbyists for the gambling industry will be working hard to soften the recommendations in the White Paper as the market seeks to find a balance between aiding the issue to combat problem gamblers while not putting undue strain on their collective bottom lines.

Land-based casinos, which had previously been allowed to offer a maximum of 20 gambling machines in their venues, can now provide as much as 80 and will also be allowed to offer credit to big-stakes players from overseas.

This is good news for the physical casino market, which was, of course, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing societal switch to online services. 

There are also plans to reduce the visibility of online casinos in the sporting sphere, with Premier League soccer teams having already voluntarily opted to remove gambling-related shirt sponsorship from the front of their kits.